Indian shares end higher as bank, metal stocks gain

BENGALURU: Indian shares ended higher on Friday, as metal stocks gained and banks rebounded from losses in the previous session, although the Nifty 50 snapped a two-week winning streak.

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed up 0.7pc at 11,762.45, while the S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.64pc higher at 39,982.98.

Both indexes ended the week 1.3pc lower as profit-booking in banking and IT stocks on Thursday, along with a global sell-off driven by concerns over rising coronavirus cases in Europe and a stalled US stimulus deal, ended Indian equities' longest gaining streak in nearly six years.

Leading the gains on Friday, the Nifty Metals index rose 4pc as shares of Tata Steel and JSW Steel gained 5.3pc and 6.7pc each.

The Nifty Bank index ended 2pc higher, recovering from a slide in the previous session as shares of HDFC Bank and Axis Bank gained 2.9pc and 1.9pc respectively.

Although the Nifty IT index briefly gained as much as 1.6pc earlier in the day, it traded 0.14pc down after ending the previous session 2.9pc lower.

The sub-index was weighed down by a slide in shares of Mindtree Ltd after the IT firm's revenue growth for the second quarter disappointed markets.